The present invention relates to a support device for use with a radiation image information processing system, and more particularly to a support device which will be connected to a radiation image information processing system which reads radiation image information from a stimulable phosphor sheet, for example, processes the radiation image information, and records the processed radiation image information on a photographic film or the like or displays the processed radiation image information on a CRT.
There have recently been developed radiation image recording and reproducing systems for producing the radiation-transmitted image of an object using a stimulable phosphor material capable of emitting light upon exposure to stimulating rays (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications Nos. 55-12429, 55-103472, 55-116340, 55-87970, etc). These radiation image recording and reproducing systems are finding wider use particularly in the medical field. When a certain phosphor is exposed to a radiation such as X-rays, .alpha.-rays, .beta.-rays, .gamma.-rays, cathode rays, or ultraviolet rays, the phosphor stores a part of the energy of the radiation. When the phosphor exposed to the radiation is subsequently exposed to stimulating rays such as visible light, the phosphor emits light in proportion to the stored energy of the radiation. The phosphor exhibiting such a property is referred to as a "stimulable phosphor".
In the radiation image recording and reproducing system employing such a stimulable phosphor, the radiation image information of an object such as a human body is stored in a sheet having a layer of stimulable phosphor, and then the stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with stimulating rays such as a laser beam, so that the stimulable phosphor sheet emits light representative of the radiation image. The emitted light is then photoelectrically detected to produce an image information signal that is electrically processed for generating image information which is recorded as a visible image on a recording medium such as a photographic photosensitive material or displayed as a visible image on a CRT or the like.
In order for the radiation image recording and reproducing system to operate smoothly and efficiently, it should be associated with a well developed support structure.
According to the conventional support structure, when a fault occurs in the radiation image recording and reproducing system, a serviceman inspects the system, and repairs the defective device on site if possible. If the defective device cannot be repaired on site, then it is replaced with a new device.
One problem with the earlier radiation image recording and reproducing systems is that when the system fails for some reasons, chronological data regarding the system failure tend to be lost or insufficient. More specifically, the user of the radiation image recording and reproducing system switches off the system when the system fails, and thereafter switches on the system to restore the system to its normal condition. When the radiation image recording and reproducing system is turned off, however, its memory or hardware is reset and any data relative to the system fault are erased. It therefore becomes difficult or even impossible to analyze the cause of the fault or recover the data with respect to the system fault. As a result, the user cannot find what caused the system fault.
When a certain function of the radiation image recording and reproducing system is to be altered, the prior program for controlling the system is replaced with a program for function alteration, and the newly programmed system is tested in the user's place.
Generally, the medical organizations which are equipped with the radiation image recording and reproducing systems use the systems under different conditions, and have a wide variety of different demands for system functions. Therefore, many function alteration programs are required to meet the user's demands. The development of such function alteration programs requires that they be tested on the radiation image recording and reproducing systems in the medical facilities for program validation. However, a long time cannot be consumed for program testing since the systems are on duty in the user's places. If a function alteration program is found defective, then it is time-consuming to remove the defective part from the program, resulting sometimes in a system shutdown.
When another function is to be added to the radiation image recording and reproducing system, a new program regarding the other function is added to the existing program for controlling the system. Depending on the scale of the added program, however, the CPU of the system may be subjected to an increased load, and image processing, for example, may need a long period of time.